Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a case of the makeup case type, used particularly in the field of cosmetics, for packaging and presenting products such as foundation in the form of a cream, a powder, a gel, or a paste, the products to be applied to the hair, or other make-up or body-care products. The invention can also be applied to other applications, particularly in the household domain. The invention is particularly suited to the packaging of products with a high content of solvent, especially water, and which have to be kept as airtight as possible so as to limit the evaporation of the solvent or solvents which they contain.
Cases suited to such products are described, in particular, in patent application EP-A-0,615,744. In this document, the case is of the type comprising a lid articulated to a bottom, closure means allowing the lid to be locked removably onto the bottom. A sealing means of the gasket type is arranged in the case, all around a recess capable of containing the product. The gasket consists of a water-absorbing material. Such a case, although simple to produce, does not offer sufficient sealing for certain applications.
Cases of a far more sophisticated design are described in patent application EP-A-0,614,629. In this document, the case comprises an internal lid mounted so that it is free to turn on an outer lid, and an internal bottom, mounted so that it is free to turn on an outer bottom. The internal lid can be screwed onto the bottom so that the product contained in a recess formed in the internal bottom can be kept under sealed conditions. The outer lid is articulated to the outer bottom so that once the internal lid has been detached from the external lid, the case can be opened by pivoting so that product can be applied using a powder puff contained in an auxiliary recess. Apart from being relatively bulky, this case suffers from a major drawback connected with its complexity, with the difficulty of using it (especially opening it), with its fragility and with its cost.
Still other cases are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,186,318 or in patent FR 2,412,474. These cases are of a relatively complicated design. Furthermore, the seal they achieve is insufficient for some applications.
Still other cases are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,466,295; 533,590; 5,632,394; and 5,542,561. All these cases have major drawbacks. One drawback relates to the complexity of their design, their bulk, and their aesthetic appearance, which is often incompatible with the demands of certain fields, such as that of cosmetics. Furthermore, some of them do not offer sufficient latitude in terms of the opening of the case and the accessibility of the product it contains. In the case of others, the sealing is insufficient or requires the presence of auxiliary sealing means, which therefore impinge adversely on the cost of the case.